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have used pretty much every major operating system out since 1992 and I build systems for people on the side. Here is what I have learned about o/s preference from Joe-90% of the computing public: They don't care. Most people just want a reliable window to the internet, maybe an office suite, and a way to store and move their music to their phone. Thats it. For the vast majority of the public something like the Beagle board or Raspberry Pi would be completely sufficient. I have noticed that most people are also cheap. In my experience people have things they care about and are willing to spend more on for quality such as crafts or restoring classic cars or children. On the other hand most things you buy in a store they want to spend as little up front as possible and milk it for all its worth. One thing that Mac/Win debaters forget when they poke fun about maleware or blue screens is that the average person won't fix those items. Tech people will spend hours hunting down a virus or .dll file; my sister bought a whole new computer because she couldn't get netflix to play (silverlight needed to be updated and didn't prompt her). Tech people care about their rigs and have a lot of emotion vested in them; average users see them as just another appliance like a toaster. If the clock doesn't work, they wont look at it; if the "issues" get annoying enough its time to get a new system. These average users are in the majority. People that own macs, are currently running Win8, know how to burn an ISO, and understand that Mp3's have terrible sound quality are in the vast minority. Luckily though they spend WAY more money than the average consumer and companies cater to them because of it...but you will also notice in any line-up there are always systems on the low end that get sold at big box stores. Those are for everyone else. A good comparison is my sister and my close friend. My Close friend is a Mac person, when she is ready to update she will drop about 2grand on a new system and extra goodies. My sister on the other hand buys a 300 dollar Emachine tower at Wal-mart every three years when the old one gets "slow" or "acts weird". It will take my sister 20 years to spend as much on tech as my friend spends in one shot. Mac folks just don't get this. What about this guy you might ask? I am even worse. I am a tech guy AND cheap. I bought my first new computer (a 300 dollar netbook) in 12 years last year so I could do work at coffee shops when going home didn't make sense. I mostly take "broken" computers from my customers for free, install Linux, bump the specs up a bit, and just use that. I am so far from a Koolaid drinker its not even funny -- 'm not sure where you heard that Windows is mediocre? Windows is amazing! I use both Windows 7 and Mac OS X every day. I have two Macbook Pro laptops, a Mac Pro desktop, a Windows 7 desktop and a Windows 7 laptop. I prefer Windows 7! I'm not implying that Mac OS X is mediocre by saying such a thing. Both of these operating systems are great! But, for me, Windows 7 is superior. You can buy a PC with mediocre hardware, you can't do such a thing with a Mac. This mediocre hardware might cause the OS to run slower, but it is not the OSs fault! Being able to buy mediocre hardware means you can buy a PC for a lot less money! If you spent the same amount of money on a PC as you would on a Mac, you'd almost certainly have better hardware on your PC. Apple pays extreme attention to detail, not only is the hardware inside their machines great quality, but the cases are amazing too! Good luck finding a PC with such a nice case. But the hardware is not the OS, the hardware will effect how well the OS runs though. The case doesn't effect the OS (although if there is not enough ventilation iot may effect your hardware, which in turn will effect your OS). But I love the cases on the Macs! Does someone make these cases for PCs? -- #People use at home what they use at work. They know it, are comfortable with it, get some support with it, and have software that is compatible with it. Windows' > 90% market share in the enterprise translates directly to high share at home. #Cost cost cost. The difference between a $500 Dell and a $1000 Macbook may not seem like much to those of us who live and breathe technology, but it is just a giant deal for most people. #Distribution...PCs are everywhere (Costco, Walmart, Target). It has only been the last few years that Macs have reached broader distribution. However I predict rapidly rising market share for Macs as these become smaller issues -- use both everyday and frankly the question is spouting old, out of date news. I find Windows 7 to be an excellent OS and frankly not inferior to Mac in the least, at least for a sophisticated user. The days of Window being a mediocre OS are pretty much history. (Windows Me anyone? *shudder*) -- Because it does all the things most people need it to do, and does most of them better, more easily, or cheaper than it's competitors. Why do people endure the surprisingly frequent instances of mediocrity (or less than even that) in OS X? -- Because for many people, computers are not a major part of their lives and thinking. Except for the technological elite (less than 1% of the population), most people don't need computers to be exceptional or excellent, merely adequate. In this respect the ubiquity and "good enough" features and functionality of Microsoft Windows is sufficient. The advantages that other systems offer are not even close enough to compensate for the inconvenience and cognitive load they would need to endure in order to switch. Think about it this way: most people endure the mediocrity of econobox cars instead of driving high-end sports cars or (even) bothering to do the research to buy the best-in-class car for their budget. Why? Because they just need a car to get them from point A to point B. Sure, they are vaguely aware that there are cars which perform or look better, or which don't break down as often - they might even have a "car friend" who knows a lot about that - but they don't care. They have other priorities in life and just want the easiest car they can find that works well enough. Think of all the things in your life that you own which aren't "best in class" but merely good enough for your purposes. For the vast majority of people, "good enough" is all they want out of a computer operating system, especially since they often have no idea what an operating system even is.